Sure.. The F-35 market might end up larger than all three Eurocanards combined, definitely something to chew on. But it might require a private venture of MBDA as I can’t see a single AF willing to carry the redesign and integration cost.

Also USA makes canards every now and then. :applause:

FAF studies overall performance, not just one aspect of it. They didn’t go for the best dogfighter last time around either.

But F-18 is a decent DOGFIGHTER…F35 is a pure stealth aircraft which needs necessarily always F22 to protect it.

FiAF DhVampire was a well flying ac as well.

In the case of Gripen it uses huge heat echangers behind the cockpit leading the heat over the back of the aircraft.
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Great stuff…I always wondered what it was for. Brilliant feature…another one actually.

How fast is Gripen ( max ) ?

FBW – Your comment about boxing with a flashlight was highly misleading.

Also, a lot of people here are making the assumption that directional datalink beams are silent and non-directional datalink beams are noisy and that there is little if anything in between.

Of course directional beams are nice to have, but any antenna has sidelobes; and there are more ways than one to reduce the probability of intercept, detection and (importantly) tracking a datalink. Not everything is a Link 16. Power management, a bit of judicious jamming (fuzz), and designing the system so that you’re not passing a lot of bits in the first place…

Hearing the odd suspicious chirp here and there doesn’t always help…

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Isn’t this whole thread a bit misleading. Finnish pilot shot down an Airacobra ( soviet ) in 1944 ( during soviet offensive ) with a I-153 Tsaika. Certainly the weapons of F35 penetrate aluminium and carbon just like hot knive butter.

Aviation Week sees it another way; http://aviationweek.com/defense/f-35-flies-against-f-16-basic-fighter-maneuvers

You realize such an aircraft would be anything but cheap, right?

If the AESA could be smaller then this might be able to fly ok with reasonable price tag.

Only 3 Sidewinders and 3 AMRAAms internally ja two 27 mm cannons.

Why does it have to be a 360 deg turn? In real combat a 180 deg turn will suffice..

Or no turn…for general steering turning would be desired…like the front wheels in cars…they turn in most models.

Some planes turn very nicely.